FPL Class Action Slams Utility for Inadequate Hurricane Irma Preparation

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A Florida resident has slammed Florida Power & Light Company with a class action lawsuit alleging the utility failed to keep its promise that it would use rate hikes to improve its power grid, leaving nearly 90 percent of FPL customers to lose power during Hurricane Irma.

According to the FPL class action lawsuit, the utility implemented a rate hike that was intended to improve services and enable FPL to restore power for customers who suffer outages during severe weather events.

These storm charge fees were typically $2 to $10 per month and were meant to allow for the pruning of trees near power lines and to move some power lines underground.

“On September 10, 2017, Hurricane Irma’s spiral bands unleashed tropical storm force winds in the South Florida area impacting FPL customers, including Plaintiff and the Class,” plaintiff Octavio Fernandez alleges in the FPL class action lawsuit.

During the hurricane, nearly 4.4 million FPL customers reportedly experienced power outages and other interruptions of FPL services, the FPL class action lawsuit alleges.

“FPL’s lack of preparation caused and continues to cause Plaintiff and the Class to remain without power in the sweltering summer heat,” Fernandez asserts in the FPL class action lawsuit. More than 300,000 customers were reportedly still without power on Sept. 17, 2017, even though FPL had publicly promised to restore power by then.

FPL’s failure to prepare for and respond to Hurricane Irma has created a dangerous hazard for those affected, Fernandez says. The lawsuit claims that FPL failed to perform its contractual obligations.

“FPL’s representation about the benefits of a rate increase and storm charge to strengthen its power lines and related infrastructures were false when made and continue to be false,” Fernandez states. “The storm charges collected have not been used as represented by FPL.”

“Customers like Plaintiff and the Class have not received the benefit of the bargain despite having paid storm charges,” the FPL class action lawsuit asserts.

Fernandez claims FPL provided customers with status updates and promised that power would be restored by certain dates despite knowing those promises would not be honored. He says FPL had more than a week of advance notice about Hurricane Irma and its potential impact on FPL’s facilities, “yet FPL did nothing to prepare for the coming storms.”

According to the Hurricane Irma preparation class action lawsuit, FPL is the third-largest electric utility in the country. It reportedly serves more than 10 million citizens.

Fernandez has filed the FPL Hurricane Irma preparation class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and all FPL customers who are Florida residents who were charged a “storm charge” and experienced power outages associated with Hurricane Irma due to FPL’s alleged failure to prepare for the severe weather event.

The FPL class action lawsuit asserts a claim for breach of contract and seeks damages, interest, attorneys’ fees and costs, and other relief deemed proper by the court. Fernandez has demanded a trial by jury.

Fernandez is represented by John H. Ruiz of MSP Recovery Law Firm and Gonzalo R. Dorta of Dorta Law.

The FPL Hurricane Irma Preparation Class Action Lawsuit is Octavio Fernandez v. Florida Power & Light Company, in the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida